


Faithlessness

by ThronedFiddle75



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Black & White | Pokemon Black and White Versions
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-05 18:54:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25520182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThronedFiddle75/pseuds/ThronedFiddle75
Summary: The Church of N, a religious organization devoted to the ideals of the fallen Team Plasma, has arisen in the Unova region. Thought they preach tolerance and peace, Lincoln Kodi is not so sure and will do anything it takes to see that the truth is brought to light. Based on a drabble by TheNatureKing. Content used with permission.
Kudos: 2





	Faithlessness

_"There are many things that are essential to arriving at true peace of mind, and one of the most important is faith, which cannot be acquired without prayer."_ \- John Wooden

Faith. For the faithful, it was a shield. It surrounded them, embraced them, and gave them peace in their righteousness. For the unfaithful, it was a sword, a call to arms. The faithful would attempt to impose their wills upon those they deemed lost. In turn, the lost were forced to cower or be culled, damned to eternal torment for not choosing to believe. For Lincoln Kodi, faith was hypocrisy. And he hated every single aspect of it.

Lincoln Kodi stood back and admired his work. He allowed himself a smile as he watched the walls of the church bleed black lines down the smooth marble. An empty can of spray paint lay at his feet, casually tossed aside once he had finished his masterpiece. In large, block letters across as much of the white marble as he could reach, his masterpiece stretched proudly where all could see it.

"Eat Conkelldur Shit," the lettering boldly exclaimed to the masses that would, soon he knew, be making their way out of their temple of lies. Lincoln basked in his as-of-yet unknown glory, thoughts of the infamy that awaited him coursing through his mind.

"Keep the light steady, Copper," he said, reaching up to stroke the small, blue blob that sat perched in the hood of his jacket. The Chinchou's twin antennae reached over Lincoln's head, illuminating the artwork before him. He just had one more finishing touch to add. He delved into the pocket of his jeans and took out another can of black spray paint. He could leave his message, of course, but it would mean nothing for him if the cowed masses didn't know who had written it. He depressed the nozzle and waved the canister in the air, spraying more of the black, toxic aerosol onto the marble. He coughed as he took a deep breath, having chosen to forsake any sort of covering for his face. His lungs burned but he didn't care; he had long since grown addicted not only to his art but to the tools with which he created it as well.

LnKnD. It was finished. His masterpiece, his magnum opus, would stand the test of time and the world would know that he, Lincoln Kodi, was the first in a long line of soldiers ready to stand against the lies and deceit of the church.

"You spelled it wrong, dumb ass," a voice said from behind him. Startled, Copper allowed his lights to go out. Lincoln turned but, now that it was dark, slipped and fell. He recovered quickly, attempting a half-roll, and got to his feet. The can of spray paint still in his hand, Lincoln pointed it like a weapon out into the darkness. He heard something that made his heart sink. The soft but certain sound of another can of spray paint being used.

"Copper, I need the light!" The twin lights of the Chinchou's illuminated antenna glowed brightly, allowing Lincoln to see once more. "What the hell?" Lincoln shouted as he looked at his masterpiece. There was a large red X through the second L in "Conkelldur" and an equally large red R had been wedged between "Conkelldur" and "shit." Without thinking, without really noticing who the newcomer was or what he looked like, Lincoln reached out and shoved the other man away from the wall. "You ruined it, man! You ruined my work!"

"Did I?" the vandal replied. Lincoln took a moment to study his nemesis, for clearly, this was someone out to take all the glory away from Lincoln for himself. He was probably a few years older, Lincoln guessed, although he stood at least a foot taller. His jacket was torn at the sleeves, revealing thick, powerful arms made of sinew and muscle and little else. Lincoln silently cursed himself, realizing this was not someone he would be able to intimidate physically. The man stepped closer to the mural. "Well, you spelled Conkeldurr wrong. I fixed it for you, see?" Lincoln scowled but noticed the man was correct.

"You did a shit job fixing it," he muttered. "Didn't even use the same color. Now everyone's going to think I'm an idiot."

"They were going to think you're an idiot anyway," the vandal replied. He casually tossed the can of red spray paint aside and turned to walk away.

"You're a nuisance to the art community," Lincoln called after him. "I hope you know that!" The vandal didn't reply but waved over his shoulder as he kept walking. Lincoln stood rooted to the spot, his eyes staring into the darkness where the vandal had gone long after he had vanished from sight.

"Pain in the ass," he muttered. "Let's go, Copper," he said, stuffing his hands into his pockets. Copper made a noise of agreement, although the Water-type Pokémon was stuck in Lincoln's hood and had no way of moving on his own outside of the water and so could do little else but agree with his master.

Lincoln made his way around to the front of the church. The back conveniently lacked any form of illumination, but the sides and front offered no such darkness. Light streamed through stained glass windows, revealing images of various people and Pokémon. As Lincoln reached the front of the church, he stared up at the two statues that stood on either side of the ornate double doors. To his left stood a black marble statue of Zekrom, a legendary Dragon-type Pokémon, while the white marble statue of its counterpart, Reshiram, stood to Lincoln's right. According to legend, if a story that was only a few years old could be considered a legend, the two Dragon-type Pokémon had been instrumental in the defeat of the notorious Team Plasma. They supposedly now resided with the Great Prophet, Natural Harmonia Gropius. It was he who the Church of N had been named after, formed by the "good" remnants of Team Plasma.

Since the second defeat of the False Prophet Ghetsis, the Church of N had exploded in popularity in the Unova region. It was one of the few places that were thought to be relatively safe. After the downfall of Team Plasma, the various cities of Unova had essentially cut themselves off from one another. Curfews were in effect in every city, checkpoints were manned with armed guards and their Pokémon, and there were even whispers of a secret police force that would kidnap dissenters in the middle of the night and take them away, never to be seen again.

The Church of N preached peace. Peace for people and peace for Pokémon. Their mission was to see that all Pokémon under the ownership of trainers were released back into the wild where they could live on their own, away from controlling trainers who forced them to battle. Lincoln, however, saw through their bullshit. Pokémon liked to battle. Well, some of them did at least. Others were companions or pets or such, but Pokémon that battled did so because they wanted to. Lincoln still remembered the first time he had been accosted by one of those self-righteous Mareep from the Church. He had explained that he found it highly unlikely that anyone, child or adult, would be able to force a six-foot-tall fire-breathing dog to battle if it didn't want to. But, as Lincoln expected, the missionary droned on about how Poké Balls took away a Pokémon's free will and it wasn't fair that even though the Pokémon did the work the trainer got all the credit, and how they could be seriously injured or killed and so on. Lincoln had broken two fingers punching the missionary in the face.

But what pissed Lincoln off the most was that Alder, the Pokémon League Champion, which basically put him in charge of the Unova military police, had felt the Church of N deserved a second chance. Nevermind that in their desire for "peace" they had caused thousands of people and Pokémon to suffer. Nevermind that no one had seen their Prophet N in nearly five years. Nevermind that they collected people's hard-earned money and spent it on lavish decorations and parties while the people of the cities continued to suffer and starve. But Lincoln knew they would get what was coming to them. His masterpiece, ruined though it was, would light a fire in the hearts of the people and they would see the Church of N for the parasite it was. With that thought in mind, Lincoln had a little extra pep in his gait as he made his way home. However, that gait turned into a sprint when he saw a soft, orange glow on the horizon.

Speaking of fire...


End file.
